Katherine Bernard (KB) Olsen is a never-mo (never Mormon) — but also one of the most devoted fans of Mormon Stories Podcast. A queer, secular journalist with deep Jewish roots and a high-fashion pedigree, Katherine has spent over 20 years captivated by the LDS Church — despite never being religious herself. In her first-ever full-length interview about her life story, she opens up about her lifelong curiosity with Mormonism, identity, belief, and American culture.

KB's impressive journalism career includes work at Vogue, New York Times, and other top-tier New York publications. After moving from Maryland to attend NYU for journalism, she found herself drawn not only to art and culture — but also to spirituality, history, and the paradoxes of organized religion. Over the years, her interest in Mormonism became a deep and serious intellectual pursuit.

What You'll Hear in This Interview:

-Her upbringing in a secular household in Maryland

-Her exploration of Jewish identity and eventual conversion

-Her first exposure to Mormonism through South Park, Big Love, and The Book of Mormon musical

-Her emotional journey coming out as gay in a non-supportive environment

-Her reflections on shame, logic, identity, and community

-Her nuanced take on Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and Mormon reality TV

-Her insights into conditioning, religious extremism, and spiritual seeking

This episode is a masterclass in curiosity — how someone with no personal ties to the LDS Church became one of its most thoughtful outside observers. KB explores Mormonism not as a critic or a believer, but as a seeker with a journalist’s eye.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join Natasha Helfer, Chelsea Homer, and Alyssa Witbeck as we review Episodes 1-4 of Season 2 of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives...where we answer the questions: What is Mormon soft swinging, and is that really a thing?

Show Notes___________________

Show Notes

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Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

• • One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
  • Support us on Patreon
  • PayPal
  • Venmo

Our Platforms:

• • YouTube
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Contact us:
MormonStories@gmail.com
PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Social Media:

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  • Join the Discord

Please join us Thursday evening at 6pm Utah time for a call-in show discussing the topic of "Are Mormons Christian?"This is part 2 of a weekly call-in show format that we are experimenting with.If you would like to join the show, please observe the following:1) Come prepared with a ONE MINUTE comment or question on the topic for the panelists to discuss. This is NOT the format to tell your moment story. If the panelists want to follow up with more questions they will do so.2) Please make sure that when you enter StreamYard your video and audio are fully enabled or you will not be added to the conversation.3) When you join, please share in the StreamYard group chat your comment or question so it can be considered by the moderators.4) The StreamYard link will be pinned as a YouTube comment at the beginning of the show.5) If you have a video comment or question that you want to share before the show airs, please send it to: mormonstories@gmail.com, and please consider posting it to TikTok and tagging it #mormonstorieslive.Show Notes for this episode can be found on the Mormon Stories Blog here.

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Show Notes

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Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

• • One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
  • Support us on Patreon
  • PayPal
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Our Platforms:

• • YouTube
  • Patreon
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Contact us:
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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Social Media:

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  • Join the Discord

In this deeply moving and raw interview, Jennie shares her powerful life story—from growing up in a strict Mormon household to breaking free from the expectations that shaped her identity. She opens up about her parents’ conversions, her challenging marriage, the emotional toll of purity culture, and her gradual disillusionment with the church.Jennie also recounts the heartbreaking loss of her daughter Izzy, and how grief reshaped her spirituality and perspective on life. Through it all, she finds resilience, healing, and the courage to choose herself.A story of love, loss, faith, and transformation you won't forget.Topics Include:-Childhood in a devout LDS family-Marriage, purity culture, and incompatibilities in marriage -Crisis of faith and discovering church history-Navigating grief after the loss of her daughterSubscribe for more real stories about faith, loss, and rebuilding.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.___________________

Show Notes

YouTube

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

• • One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
  • Support us on Patreon
  • PayPal
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Our Platforms:

• • YouTube
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Contact us:
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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Social Media:

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  • Join the Discord

In this emotional and deeply honest episode, Eve and her parents, Neal and Christa, share their powerful story of faith, devotion, awakening, and transformation. Raised in a multi-generational Mormon household, Eve and her family lived and breathed the teachings of the LDS Church—until the cracks began to show.From Neal’s time as a bishop and Christa’s strong belief in Mormon womanhood, to Eve’s mission and eventual faith transition, this conversation explores:The impact of religious upbringing and cultural expectationsThe emotional toll of unaddressed questions and historical issuesHow Gospel Topics Essays, polyandry, and the church’s lack of transparency triggered a faith crisisEve’s pivotal role in helping her parents deconstruct their beliefsThe cost—and freedom—of walking awayHeartfelt, raw, and eye-opening, this interview shines a light on the complexity of leaving a high-demand religion and finding connection, purpose, and joy on the other side.

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Show Notes

YouTube

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

• • One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
  • Support us on Patreon
  • PayPal
  • Venmo

Our Platforms:

• • YouTube
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  • Apple Podcasts

Contact us:
MormonStories@gmail.com
PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Social Media:

• • Insta: @mormstories
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  • Join the Discord

Join us for our first live video call-in show! The topic: "What do Mormons Believe About God?"

We will be briefly reviewing my essay that can be found here: https://johndehlin.substack.com/p/what-do-mormons-believe-about-god

Then we would love some of our audience to join us to discuss any of the following topics:

• What they were taught as Mormons about God.
• What they think about the Mormon version of God.
• What they believe about God.

We will be joined by dear friends Kolby and Cam Reddish.

Show Notes

Watch this Episode YouTube

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:35 Kobly and Cami Reddish introduce themselves

00:05:00 Ground rules for these live episodes

00:09:50 John wrote an essay in substack “Understanding Mormonism”

00:12:00 Poll on beliefs of the Mormon Stories Community

00:17:30 Reading the substack article

00:19:20 Comparing the Judeo-Christian God to Mormon God

00:26:00 Differences between Judeo-Christian God to Mormon God

00:30:15 Mormons will downplay theosis, of humans becoming God’s

00:43:00 The concept of Mother God

00:53:44 Katie

01:03:40 Why Mormon women are leaving the church at higher rates

01:05:35 Maya

01:16:19 Andrew

01:22:15 Sad Heaven and where Satan fits into this

01:29:05 Karissa

01:32:55 Kendel

01:34:10 Contradictory aspects of Mormon God

01:39:25 Cultch

01:48:20 Jenn

01:55:40 Were women taught that they’d physically bear billions of children?

01:59:15 Melannie

02:12:10 Harrison Escobar

02:16:40 Cameron

02:18:50 Apocrypha Now

02:25:00 Karli Searches and Prayers

02:31:00 Closing comments

___________________

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

• One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
• Support us on Patreon
• PayPal
• Venmo

Our Platforms:

• YouTube
• Patreon
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts

Contact us:
MormonStories@gmail.com
PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Social Media:

• Insta: @mormstories
• TikTok: @mormonstoriespodcast
• Join the Discord

In this powerful continuation of our interview with Ben and Justine, we explore their raw and honest journey from deep devotion in the LDS Church to personal awakening, heartbreak, and healing.

They share how their relationship grew during Justine’s school years, navigating early marriage, financial and gender-role challenges, and the burden of trying to live up to faith-based ideals. From motherhood identity struggles to confronting doctrinal issues and discovering their voices during a faith crisis, this episode is full of vulnerable, eye-opening moments.

Highlights include:

• Gender roles & pressure in Mormonism

• The cost of silence during a faith crisis

• The CES Letter, LDS Discussions & uncovering hard truths

• Healing from betrayal, rebuilding marriage & reconnecting with family

• Their plea for empathy from believing members

Whether you're in faith, out of faith, or somewhere in between—this is a story about agency, partnership, and finding truth together.

Show Notes

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

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At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.

Our overall mission is to:

1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

• One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
• Support us on Patreon
• PayPal
• Venmo

Our Platforms:

• YouTube

• Patreon

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Contact us:
MormonStories@gmail.com
PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Social Media:

• Insta: @mormstories

• TikTok: @mormonstoriespodcast

• Join the Discord